John Shier

John Shier is a BAFTA & EMMY winning natural history cinematographer who specializes in long-lens behavioral sequences, motion-controlled daytime and nighttime timelapse techniques, aerial and land-based gimbal filming and dynamic landscape cinematography. John has traveled throughout the world working for a wide variety of clients including: Disney Nature, The BBC, BBC Earth, Silverback Films, National Geographic Channel, The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS and National Geographic WILD.

A naturalist as well as a cameraman, John’s passion is working with wild animals in their habitats and he relishes working in remote and challenging wilderness locations. He is an experienced climber and skier and has extensive experience working for extended durations in arctic and alpine environments.

John is familiar with a variety of camera systems including the RED Dragon, Sony F65 & F55, the Phantom Flex, etc. He’s also worked extensively with mobile gimbal platforms, both on the ground and in the air with drones and is an experienced Shotover gimbal operator. Over the past half-decade John has helped push the boundaries of motion-controlled timelapse, bringing new kits to the ends of the Earth and helping to design novel tools to create previously impossible images.

Equipment

John offers a comprehensive list of cinematography equipment available for rental: